Friday, November 30, 2018

Why are Muslims Behind in Scientific Achievements

A lot of people wonder that if Muslims have the perfect guidance, then why are they so behind everyone n terms of worldly achievements? The answer to this question is multifaceted and needs deep analysis.

It is no secret that in the Islamic Golden Age, Muslims were leading the world in worldly achievements. They gave the ideas to Western civilization that led to the Renaissance, Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution. There was a difference between the scientific inquiry that the Muslims practiced as compared to that followed by Western civilization. In the Islamic model of inquiry, God was at the center. Their motivation to find out things in their physical environment was inspired by their scriptures. Doing so was considered a form of worship which increased their faith (emaan). Thus, it was achieved through perfect balance required by taking care of multifarious obligations. In contrast, the scientific inquiry carried out by the West was done after completely denouncing the religious teaching as Christian dogma prevented honest rational inquiry. It was motivated by reasibs other than that of worshiping God. It might have been carried out out of curiosity or desire for fame, status or wealth.

Today, this inquiry is done based on the Western model, which does not contain the essential balance that the Muslim scientists practiced in the Middle Ages. Many people engaged in scientific inquiry today sacrifice personal spirituality, family life, community life, etc. for the sake of scientific achievements.

Another dimension of the answer has got to do with the stagnancy and decline of the pursuance of knowledge and science in the Muslim world since the 13th century. As Muslims relinquished their positions as the leading intellectuals of the world, they were slowly replaced by Western thinkers. With that change came the change of doing science as a means to increase faith to doing science by renouncing faith. Thus the Islamic paradigm of science was lost to a secular paradigm of science.

As the Muslim world was colonized, Muslims felt a need to graft Western education system in their institutes to progress. This was done mostly by accepting the philosophy of Western education completely, rather than reinterpreting it from the  Islamic paradigm. Thus, the Muslim world tried to catch up in scientific inquiry while their students suffered from contradictory paradigms of realities - Islamic and secular. This resulted in two outcomes. Either Muslims did bad in modern education since it was not based on their own frame of reference or they completely abandoned their own paradigm, accepted secularism and achieved worldly success.

In order to preserve their religion while excelling in education, Muslims started to focus on certain professions, the education of which were religiously neutral but which allowed them to earn well. Thus, Muslims tend to excel in engineering, medicine, law, computer science, etc. In general, their focus shifted from using education as a means of worship to using education to live a comfortable life. The desire for status and wealth makes them unable to dedicate themselves to scientific inquiry, which they find difficult to carry out while being true to their faith.

Yet another dimension of the answer lies with the fact that scientific research is not a priority in a lot of the Muslim world which is struggling with immense socioeconomic problems. Those Muslim countries that are poor have no resources to invest on science. While those who are rich are too arrogant to realize its importance. Those Muslims in the West are undergoing other unique challenges in terms of searching for ways and means to keep their progeny within the realm of their faith.

To a typical Muslim, discovering scientific discoveries while losing his faith is failure. Achieving scientific breakthroughs are not his priority. His goal is to use education to fulfill his economic needs so that he is able to do good deeds and fulfill all his responsibilities by living a balanced life.

Friday, November 9, 2018

Etiquette of Entry

In Islam, people are entitled to their privacy. Everyone has their own private space, personal things and individuality. The Quran calls this space a "bayt". The word bayt is derived from the verb baata/ubeetu, which means to spend a night a certain place. So this might be someone's house or for the people of the same household it might be their bedroom. They might have it all for themselves or they may be sharing it with someone. In order to respect that privacy, Islam has made obligatory a certain etiquette for the entry of such private places.

It is among the principles of Islam, that it aims to preserve people's wealth, honor and lives. When visiting someone, one makes oneself known by knocking or ringing the bell which can be a maximum of three times. If the resident does not open the door, the visitor should not mind it, nor should they persist in entry but they should return. They should not try to force themselves into the home. Such behavior causes bad feeling among the people. It might also cause the residents to be startled. Islam forbids that people deliberately frighten others. They might also be engaged in an activity that they do not want outsiders to know about.

Furthermore, it is from the etiquette that the visitor does not stand in front of that door so that his eyesight might fall to what is in the house if the door opens. Rather he should stand to the right or left of the door looking away from it. The visitor should also make himself known by making a peculiar noise that distinguishes him or announcing this name. He should not just say "it is me" but he should state his name. He should also say "As Salaamu Alaikum" and seek permission to enter.

This is the formal protocol of someone entering a house or a private space. It is allowed to forgo this protocol for people who frequently enter the house of some other understanding with respect to an informal protocol has been reached with them with respect to entry.

A man is required to seek permission in the private room of his mother and daughter. He should make himself known and seek permission to enter. If permission is not granted he should turn away. When visiting other people's homes, it is obligatory for men to announce themselves and seek permission before entering the sitting area of the women. We should also give salaams to the women, but not to socialize with them. Islam does not seek to establish unnatural segregation between women whereby they do not communicate whatsoever. Neither does it seek complete free-mixing.

One should not look around when visiting someone, neither should they open their drawers and wardrobes. If they were allowed to look at these things they would not have been kept hidden from view of the visitors. They should respect their privacy. This rule does not apply to children when it comes to parents. Parents are responsible for their children and they have the right to inspect all their things, but they should do this in a open manner with their children's knowledge. The trust between parents and children should never be damaged.

PS: Seeking permission a maximum of three times also applies to telephone calls. One should not persist calling after three missed calls.